Hello! And welcome to Advent Wednesdays!

“Seriously Tan? Christmas already?”

Yes, I know that’s what some of you are probably thinking, and you’re probably ready to freak out on the world (or my comments box) for everyone starting Christmas immediately after halloween. I mean, it’s 8 weeks away!

I know, and I’m sorry. But here’s the thing, using advent calendars is less than 4 weeks away. That’s it! 4 weeks! So in order to get you ready, each Wednesday I’ll be presenting you with a different advent calendar idea, giving you time to gather materials and create it without having to go for a mad dash to the drug store to pick up a yucky chocolate advent calendar instead.

So let’s get started with one of my favourites! Message in an ornament.
Instead of the usual chocolates, I created this advent calendar a couple years ago, where my husband and I write favours or date nights for each other, such as “I’ll wash the dishes tonight” or “What movie do you want to see? My treat.”. I took the same idea but used glass ornaments and pretty sparkles instead.

Materials

• 2 sheets blank white paper and a nice pen
• Scissors
• Ruler and pencil
• 24 clear glass ornaments
• Various fillers – ribbon, twigs, sparkles, feathers, lace, etc
• Yarn needle
• Thread
• Small stickers or tape
• Mini luggage tags or cardstock cut to any shape with a hole at the top
• A branch or other (see notes on step #)

As you can see I took a girly approach with all the pink and glitter. The beauty of this advent calendar though is you can fill it with anything you want to create any style you want. For an earthy style, fill the ornaments with dirt, branches, feathers, and bits of burlap. For a Dr Seuss style advent calendar, go for glitter and fabrics in bright and wacky colours. The options are endless!

Steps

1 Cut strips of paper lengthwise at 1/2 inch each. Write a date night idea or favour on each one in your neatest writing. At this time you can also write the numbers 1-24 on each tag (see step 7 for example).
2 Cut a piece of thread about 24 inches long and use a sticker or tape to stick onto one end of the strip.
3 From the opposite end of where the thread is, roll the strip of paper around a yarn needle, or something else of about the same size. Roll the entire piece of paper, then wrap the thread around it a few times. Make sure you leave about 12 inches of thread unwound. If you want to further secure it so it doesn’t unroll in the ornament, seal with another sticker or piece of tape.
4 Remove the ornament’s cap and fill with whatever pretty things you have lying about. I used a variety of items: round silver glitter, rose gold tinsel glitter, pink glitter, shiny cellophane confetti, heart confetti, strips of lace, ribbon, and small twigs of boxwood. It’s nice to have a variety of items that look good together.
5 Place the strip of paper spun around the needle into the mouth of the ornament, then slip it off the needle with your finger.
6 Place the ornament cap back on, making sure to leave some thread hanging out.
7 Tie a tag to the end of the thread.
When they’re all complete, you’re ready to hang your ornaments! Here are a few ways to create your advent calendar:

• On a large tree branch, as pictured. In order to do this, you’ll have to either have a couple branches sticking out of a large, sturdy vase, or securely nail the branch to the wall. All those glass ornaments weight those branches down!
• Secure a line of ribbon across your mantel and hang each ornament along it
• Get a mini christmas tree to place each ornament on
• Instead of hanging the ornaments, place them all in a clear bowl and feature it as a centrepiece